Visualization of Electro-Magnetic Fields in Photonic Crystals

New capabilities for fabricating materials at nanometer length scales
have created the possibility of materials with new optical scattering
properties. These materials are nano-scale dielectric and metallic
scatterers, arranged in a periodic structure to harness resonant
phenomena in their interaction with electric fields. Examples include
photonic crystals, in which patterned dielectric structures are used
as nano-scale optical waveguides. Multiple groups in the Electromagnetics
Division are studying meta-materials, whose surfaces reflect or
transmit light at very controlled frequencies with high efficiency and
selectivity. These structures present challenges for mathematical
modeling. For a precise simulation of these fields, this project requires
the full vectorial solution to Maxwell's Equations, capable of capturing both
near and far fields, to bridge the coupling of resonances dictated by
both the nanometer scale structures and the macroscopic scale structures.
Convergence properties of resulting mathematical sums are extremely
subtle and careful scalings are necessary.

A huge amount of data comes out of these calculations. We are using
immersive visualization to examine the complex dynamics
of the electromagnetic fields. Field vectors are represented as
geometric arrows in our three-dimensional immersive scene, and
simulations of the periodic behavior of these vectors over time
and frequency ranges give a complete picture of the outcome of
these mathematical calculations.We visualized data for the electric, magnetic, and energy
field vectors in and around an array of a sheet of atoms in a nanostructure.
These vectors vary in a time-periodic function, and vary over a wide
frequency range.